Rachel Kelly's food website: "there is no love sincerer than the love of food!"

my favourite bacon sarnie - another guilty weekend pleasure!

bacon breakfast sandwich

It is British Sandwich Week and I couldn't resist another bout of soul bearing - admitting to yet another of my guilty pleasures.

An English Breakfast in a sandwich is ridiculously indulgent, but one that graces my kitchen very occasionally . . . OK, I confess, it is more like once a month, usually on a Saturday or Sunday morning. But it really is a rare treat and it's perfect when I have a house full of people to feed. Everyone loves a good bacon sarnie, and even more so if it has a few added extras.
There is some debate in the UK about what constitutes the perfect bacon sarnie - everyone has their favourite version and some people get a bit hot under the colour about it. Witness the debate over the fabulous Felicity Cloake's How to cook the perfect bacon sandwich a few months ago on The Guardian's food blog Word of Mouth.

Should you use back bacon or streaky? Smoked or unsmoked? Tomato sauce or brown sauce? Do you fry or grill the bacon? What kind of bread do you prefer? Do you like the cotton woolly factory-produced bread or do you like something a little more artisanal? Everyone on the Word of Mouth blog had very firm opinions (and some had clearly got out of the wrong side of the bed that morning!

In 2007, the University of Leeds, funded by the Danish Bacon and Food Council conducted research in to what constituted the perfect bacon sandwich. I don't understand the resulting formula, but what I do know is that it is a combination of textures, flavour, smell, crunch and overall sensation. Blimey! I do like research!

I prefer unsmoked bacon because I don't want the flavour to be overwhelmed with smokiness. I also prefer dry-cured bacon as less liquid is released when cooking. I also prefer my bacon grilled rather than fried, but that is purely a personal preference and not set in stone.

But it has to be proper bread. The real thing, not that spongy stuff you can buy from supermarkets and since I make my own bread, there is always a regular supply.

By the way, if you do care about animal welfare and food production, check out the LovePork site and look for the Red Tractor logos at your local retailers. They guarantee high standards of welfare and production throughout the whole food supply chain, from farm to plate.

To be honest, I'm hungry again! I'd settle for a tortilla too but it's hard to make one with just the one egg . . . I have just forced myself to have a slice of bread that came out of the oven a couple of hours ago and a poached egg . . . with marmite of course!!!

About Me

Born in Nottingham. Grew up in Kuala Lumpur and now based in north London. Marketing Communications professional, project manager, writer, researcher, tree hugger, home cook and food blogger. Trainee assassin sounds more interesting though but the reality is that I am cooking seasonally, learning to forage and to trust my instincts, and writing about food; discovering new ingredients and dreaming that I'm part kitchen witch, part mad scientist. I wish!